The Causes of imperialism The main ones go from the economic ends (search of raw material, slaves, customs) to the political reasons (power, kings, hierarchy), happening of course by the religious (evangelization).
Imperialism is the political, economic and even intellectual domain that one society exercises over another. In other words, it is a form of international hierarchy based on control.
Some historians often divide imperialism into phases or epochs: mercantile capitalism, colonialism and, finally, neocolonialism or neo-imperialism.
Mercantile capitalism refers to the stage of imperialism that began in the sixteenth century, after the"discovery"of America.
The main characteristic of this period was the exploitation of the riches of the American territory at the hand of the main merchant nations of Europe, like Spain and England.
The discovery of America in 1492 gave rise to mercantile capitalism
Mercantile capitalism was followed by colonialism. During this period, the merchant powers not only exploited the territories of the American continent, but also became their rulers. In this phase, the use of armies was the key to subjugate the native peoples.
Finally, neo-colonialism or neo-imperialism began around 1945; For this year, most of the colonies had become independent. However, this independence was only political since they continued economically and still continue to depend on the powers.
Causes of imperialism
Several authors have debated the causes of imperialism. According to Atkinson (1902), imperialism was the result of nationalism, patriotism, militarism, religious fervor (mainly of Christianity) and capitalism, and their relentless pursuit of economic advantages.
For his part, Charles Hawksley establishes a relation between types of imperialism and the motives that give rise to each of these.
For Hawksley, there are five varieties of imperialism: exploitation, private trade, expansion, administration, and international administration. Among the causes of imperialism proposed by Hawksley, the most relevant are:
1- The exploitation of territories
The desire to acquire territories to exploit the riches that exist in him is one of the reasons that gave origin to the imperialism of century XV and XVI.
The imperialist nations moved on this occasion showed little or no respect for the peoples whom they submitted, which were generally used as slaves.
2- Obtaining economic benefits
Another cause of imperialism is the pursuit of economic benefits through the creation of markets for economic exchange in the colonies, which involved interaction between the state and private companies.
In this sense, the imperialist force takes advantage of the new territories to expand markets and generate new investment fields. The British East India Company is an example of this.
3- Obtaining raw material
Colonies were seen as sources of raw material. African territories, for example, provided rubber, copper and gold while colonies in Asia generated cotton. These materials allowed to expand the European market.
4. Military reasons
David Fidlehouse (1981, quoted by Hawksley) argues that one reason for expansion is the value of these new territories as strategic military bases.
In this regard, Alfred Mahan, author of In The Influence of Sea Power Upon History ( On the influence of maritime power on history ) Points out that every major power must have a modern fleet, naval bases in the Pacific and the Caribbean.
5 - Political reasons
There is a tendency to believe that the expansion of the territories of a nation can strengthen national security.
For example, in 1869, the Suez Canal was inaugurated, a passage that facilitated the journey from Europe to Africa and to Asia by sea. Shortly afterwards, Great Britain occupied the Egyptian territory in order to keep the newly opened Suez Canal under its control and ensure the passage to India, its main colony.
6- The war for power
For the nineteenth century, there was the conviction that the possession of colonies was an indicator of the greatness of a nation.
The colonies were considered symbols of power. Thus, the acquisition of colonies became a competition; An example of this is the distribution of Africa at the hand of Europeans, which occurred between 1880 and 1900.
7- Demographic reasons
At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the population of the European continent grew considerably. Precarious working conditions and labor shortages led countries to expand their domains to increase the labor market.
8- Social Darwinism
In 1859, Charles Darwin published The origin of species . In this treatise, Darwin pointed out that all living things had evolved.
To explain this evolutionary process, he proposed the theory of natural selection, stating that nature selected the species that had the greatest potential to adapt to the environment and, consequently, to survive.
Despite not having promoted social ideas, Darwin's concepts were extrapolated to human societies. Thus,"survival of the fittest"was transformed into the maxim of social Darwinism, an ideology that held that there were"better"people than others, thus favoring imperialist expansion.
The Europeans considered that they,"the white race", were dominant and it was natural that they conquered other inferior towns.
9-"The burden of the white man"
The burden of the white man ( The White Man's Burden ) Is a poem written by Rudyard Kipling, in which it is stated that it is the duty of white men to"bring civilization"to the colonies.
This poem, which showed the superiority of Europeans over Africans and Asians, pushed the imperialist ideas of the nations of the West.
10- Religion
Landerbug, Thomas offers other causes of imperialism, such as religion. During the nineteenth century, it was common among European nations to send missionaries to the colonies.
However, behind this evangelization there was a further motive: to control the peoples through the prohibitions imposed by religion.
References
- Lake, D. (2001). Imperialism: Political Aspects. Retrieved on February 16, 2017, from uote.ucsd.edu.
- Atkinson, J. (1902). Imperialism: A Study. Retrieved on February 16, 2017, from economictheories.org.
- Hawksley, C. Conceptualising Imperialism in the 21st Century. Retrieved on February 16, 2017, deadelaide.edu.au.
- Scammell, C. (1989). The First Imperial Age. New York: Routledge. Taylor & Francis Group.
- Roots of Imperialism. Retrieved on February 16, 2017, from pburgsd.net
- The Age of Imperialism (1870-1914). (S.f.). Retrieved on February 16, 2017, from tamaqua.k12.pa.us.
- Ladenburg, T. (1974-2007). Three Theories Explaining Imperialism. Retrieved on February 16, 2017, from digitalhistory.uh.edu.